Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Sexual Reform: History and Strategy

How did people repeal sodomy laws in the USA? The American Civil Liberties Union says that "[m]ost [states] did it as part of a general reform of criminal laws" ("Getting Rid of Sodomy Laws: History and Strategy that Led to the Lawrence Decision," 2006). That should give another idea to those who seek to expand personal rights and freedoms, including those that concern sexual happiness, in Iran and other Third-World nations, in addition to searching for ways to revise laws and customs by reinterpreting indigenous cultural resources: sometimes, reform of X (e.g., treatment of same-sex sex) is more likely to be accepted if it comes as a part of a general reform, rather than singled out for single-issue mobilization.